‘Planes will fly
higher for longer’
Independent Arrivals Review’
concluded in January.
The latest report has identified
the modification of A320
aircraft to reduce their highpitched whine as a priority. This
involves fitting older aircraft
with vortex generators.
Tunbridge Wells MP Greg Clark
has secured an assurance from
easyJet that two thirds of their
aircraft will have been refitted
by the end of this month.
Another of the campaigners’
demands has been met by
broadening the approach paths,
which should create a fairer
dispersal of planes.
The report also guarantees an
increase in the initial altitude of
aircraft as they begin their
approach to 7,000ft, which means
they will fly higher for longer.

Page 15

Pages 12-13

GATWICK SIGNALS A
MOVE TO REDUCE
AIRCRAFT NOISE OVER
TUNBRIDGE WELLS
CAMPAIGNERS for quieter skies
over Tunbridge Wells and
surrounding villages are giving
a cautious welcome to the
publication this week of
Gatwick’s Final Action Plan.
Community groups have been
calling for changes to the way
aircraft approach the Sussex
airport for two years.
Experimentation with flight
paths led to a concentration of
incoming planes over a narrow
strip through the Kent
countryside.
Gatwick now states that it
‘has accepted all of the
recommendations of the

KARATE KIDS
PICKED TO
REPRESENT
ENGLAND

PAGE 5

POLICE TAKE ACTION
Travellers on Lower Common
served with eviction notices

adam@timesoftunbridgewells.co.uk
AN INVESTIGATION has been launched by
Network Rail after the cancellation of trains
between Tunbridge Wells and Tonbridge
during the height of yesterday morning’s
rush hour.
Travel chaos gripped both towns and their
surrounding areas as gridlock on the roads
compounded the situation, leaving thousands stranded for hours on their way to work.
Commuters quickly took to social media to
vent their frustration, as 24 trains between
5.20am and 12.21 were classed as either cancelled or ‘disrupted’.
Sarah Owen on Twitter described the con-

tingency plans for disruption on the rail
network as ‘shambolic’, while Julian Childs
described the situation as ‘a joke’, adding:
“Constant apologies wear thin.”
Lucy Hayball, also on Twitter, said: “Going
to be over an hour late on my second
day thanks to trains… not exactly how
I wanted to start my day.”
Network Rail said the six hours of
delays were caused after a ‘crucial’

‘Everyone has been
calling into work, I have
seen several people give
up and go home’
Commuter Harry Molyneux

piece of railway equipment had been damaged by an engineering train during the
early hours of the morning.
This led to hundreds of commuters queuing
at Tunbridge Wells, Tonbridge and High
Brooms stations, in the hope of continuing
their journeys by replacement bus.
However, the buses proved ineffective
as gridlock and tailbacks mired the road
network, leaving even Kent Police and
the borough council at a loss as to why
the situation was so dire as ‘no
accidents’ had been reported.
Motorists, for example, were
taking up to an hour longer
than normal getting into town